Hello, I have a retaining wall on a slope about 6 feet away from my house. It is leaning / bowing outwards towards and down the slope. I am wondering if I can just remove it and build a new one, or if I have to build some kind of scaffolding or support so the soil behind it doesn't spill out and down the slope. The concern is the soil it is holding is right next to the house about 6 feet away or so, I don't want to take the house along with the soil when I'm repairing the wall. Thanks! Tim

Not sure if I screwed up this retaining wall build or not. But I'm looking for ways to reinforce the wall and make it stronger. The wall is about 10' from the house and will be about 2' tall - which was the max height recommended by the manufacturer. The blocks are vertically stacked and secured w/ landscape adhesive. The soil behind it is mostly red clay, that will be covered w/ 6" of screened topsoil and then 4" of mulch. Then some smaller trees (probably crape myrtles) and plenty of shrubs). We're in NC, so we have mostly mild winters, and our frost line (to keep irrigation pipes safe) is 8". I do have dedicated irrigation lines to water the plants as needed above the wall positioned halfway between the house and wall. My concern is the wall getting knocked over if the red clay becomes overly saturated/frozen. The block drains really well as is, but hopefully the added drainage behind the wall will also help with that. Here's what I've considered: [list] [*]Getting some rebar, and drilling down through the blocks that are there to hammer the rebar through the gravel/ground. [*]Adding some cinder block piers every 10' or so and then mortaring them to the back of the wall (but I'd have to remove the gravel/drainage pipe first) [*]As a last resort - I could get some geo fabric and glue it in between the top row of block and the 2" capstone that has yet to be installed, but the weight of the topsoil might not do much. So I'm thinking I'd almost have to install half the gravel at the back...then add the geogrid....then add the 2nd half of the gravel. The problem there is...the geogrid would lay behind the wall in an "L" shape instead of straight back into the ground behind the wall. To me, it seems like that might be counterproductive and cause the wall to bow by pulling the top back, but not the bottom. If I was to use geogrid, I think I'd almost certainly have to remove the top 2 block rows that are already adhered - then add the geogrid - then re-adhere the top 2 block rows? [/list] Any thoughts/advice is greatly appreciated. Here's the wall as it presently sits. I've added some additional details on the wall below: [u][b]Here's where the wall is at:[/b][/u] Started by laying foundation of #5 gravel, then leveled and flattened w/ layer of gravel screenings (which is supposed to be just like sand). Added corrugated drainage pipe w/ slits and sleeve to help with drainage. The bottom row is presently above the future grade of the ground, but I plan to back cover with more gravel screenings and top soil to at least 1/2 if not 1 full row of block (more than likely 1/2 gravel screenings, 1/2 topsoil). Thanks again for any advice. If I could do it all over again...I'd go with better block and have a pro install it - hindsight is 20-20 :( As it is, I figure might as well finish the job and hope it lasts at least a few years, and then have a pro install a professional grade wall when this one fails.